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We'll move the earth for a title!Sun, 29 Mar 2015 06:26:46 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1Danilo Gallinari leads Italy to Eurobasket 2013http://www.roundballminingcompany.com/2012/09/09/danilo-gallinari-leads-italy-to-eurobasket-2013/
http://www.roundballminingcompany.com/2012/09/09/danilo-gallinari-leads-italy-to-eurobasket-2013/#commentsSun, 09 Sep 2012 22:16:47 +0000http://www.roundballminingcompany.com/?p=4639The Italian national team wrapped up a very successful summer with an 83-58 win over Belarus yesterday, concluding Eurobasket qualifying with a perfect 8-0 record. Danilo Gallinari led the way with 16 points and 12 rebounds to cap off an impressive stint with the national team, which won 8 straight games despite lacking Gallo’s fellow NBA talents Andrea Bargnani and Marco Bellinelli.

Eurobasket is FIBA’s bi-annual European championships which will be held in Slovenia for 2013. It’s been dominated by Spain in recent years while the Italians have sort of lingered on the international scene without much success since their silver medal win in the 2004 Olympics.

Gallo played very well on the new-look Italian team under head coach Simone Pianigiani, one of the rising stars on the European coaching scene. Italy was one of the best defensive teams in the tournament despite lacking a traditional post presence and played a very unselfish style on both ends of the court.

Before we get into looking at Gallo’s performance, a quick disclaimer that basketball here is a bit like what you might see in summer league. Anything you choose to take away from it comes with the caveat that it may be largely meaningless when it comes to the real NBA. Just one year ago, Gallo looked horrible in a short stint with Olimpia Milano during the lockout before going on an absolute tear to start the shortened NBA season. Nevertheless, it is good to see Gallo healthy and performing well against a field littered with current and future NBA talent.

Gallo finished the tournament with averages of 15.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 26.9 minutes per game. He ranked 7th in the tournament in free throws attempted (6.4), 5th in free throws made (5.3) and 6th in fouls drawn (5.9). His penchant for attacking the rim, a staple of Denver’s offense, was on full display and Gallo also managed to throw his size around with more success, ranking 13th in defensive rebounds with 5.4 per game.

With Gallo being Italy’s best offensive player by a mile, you might think he’d initiate most of the offense and look for his own shot more than he would in the NBA. From what I saw of Italy’s games, his role on offense was a far cry from that. Coach Pianigiani gave Gallo freedom to be himself and a green light to shoot, but you rarely saw Italy try to feature him in the pick and roll. They would set him up on the wings or high post where he had plenty of space to operate thanks to Italy having about four three-point shooters on the floor at all times.

I was only able to watch highlights and portions of two games on stream, but one thing I did notice was Gallo’s fledging post game. As he has in the NBA, Gallo is very reluctant to attack a mismatch on the low block. He often just won’t back down much smaller players, looking awkward and tentative with his back to the basket in general. Italy relied on Gallo to play big thanks to his size and while he was able to deliver on the defense and rebounding front, he is still purely a perimeter player on offense. That is fine for the Nuggets at this point in his career, but Gallo will find his growth limited if he does not develop one or two moves he can go to in the extended post. At his size it will make things so much easier on the offensive end.

One of the things that has always bugged me about Gallo’s game is his reluctance to shoot coming off screens. When Gallo gets a screen, he’s looking to shoot the gap in a straight line. When that’s not there he almost always hesitates and picks up his dribble, unsure of whether to pass, shoot, or continue the drive. The defense then always has time to collapse the passing lanes and close out on him before Gallo will force up an off-balance floater or long two-pointer. He does this in Europe too and even against smaller less-athletic defenders, Gallo misses these shots nine times out of ten. Gallo creates space so easily if he learned to just pull up and shoot I think his efficiency would skyrocket. Thanks to his outstanding ability to get to the rim, he still manages to be very efficient and connected on 54.8% of his two-point shots.

Gallo leading the team in rebounding is also a very positive sign for his development. By rebounding at a high rate he can force opposing teams to match up with his size. Defensively, Gallo is active on the perimeter and better than he’s given credit for. He has struggled to make an impact on defense in the NBA thanks to his propensity for leaking out on the break and his inability to guard players his size. Gallo does not need to become a great post defender, but he will have hold his own for his size and make his presence felt against teams who will look to bully him under the basket.

Sometime during the lockout, Gallo’s three point shot left him and hasn’t come back. He shot 32.8% from three last year, a performance I’m hoping will prove to be an anomaly. Unfortunately Gallo’s three-ball didn’t recover in Eurobasket qualifiers as he shot just 30.6% in eight games. It’s important to note Gallo missed all preparation for this tournament with back and shoulder injuries which could have affected his shot. Gallo will have a big role shooting open threes in Denver’s offense next season and I still have full confidence that he will make them if healthy. While I’m concerned about his shooting, I still don’t believe he’s all of the sudden turned into Baron Davis behind the arc.

The most important takeaway from Gallo’s summer is his experience as a leader on the floor. Gallo never scored fewer than 10 points in the tournament and was relied on to be Italy’s best player on both ends. Ultimately he helped deliver eight straight wins in a team role, some of them very ugly where he faced adversity and had to battle back. Upon his return to Denver, Gallo needs to bring the same mindset and confidence to the NBA hardwood. He and JaVale McGee are the two players capable of elevating their games to a point that can get the Nuggets to another level. By virtue of not being McGee, Gallo at this stage in his development has the best chance of making it happen.

Danilo Gallinari is quickly becoming the face of Italian basketball in the modern era, the only Italian NBA player to say yes to the national team this summer. He was a boy on the 2009 team that failed to qualify for Eurobasket and the 2011 squad that was an afterthought. Today, he’s grown into a man leading the revival of the national team with eight straight wins en route to a top seed in Slovenia next summer. Whether or not Gallo can make the same leap in the NBA remains to be seen. If he wants it as bad as he wanted success with the national team this summer, Gallo can take on a larger role with Nuggets next season. It’s there for him.

Update: RMC reader Monimo has shared several videos featuring Gallinari’s play in the Eurobasket qualifiers. Many thanks to Monimo

]]>http://www.roundballminingcompany.com/2012/09/09/danilo-gallinari-leads-italy-to-eurobasket-2013/feed/23Nuggets News: Preparing for Wilson Chandlerhttp://www.roundballminingcompany.com/2012/02/04/nuggets-news-preparing-for-wilson-chandler/
http://www.roundballminingcompany.com/2012/02/04/nuggets-news-preparing-for-wilson-chandler/#commentsSun, 05 Feb 2012 02:35:38 +0000http://www.roundballminingcompany.com/?p=3253On Saturday the Denver Nuggets chose to waive DeMarre Carroll, according to Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post. With next Tuesday’s deadline that demands all NBA contracts become guaranteed and Wilson Chandler still not re-signed, waiving Carroll was the simplest way to ensure a roster spot remains open for Chandler upon his return to the NBA sometime in the near future.

The next month is going to be extremely telling for the identity of the 2011-2012 Denver Nuggets, and in turn, whether Denver chooses to keep Wilson Chandler or explore sign-and-trade options. Of all the future opponents the Nuggets will face throughout the month of February, only two teams are currently more than one game below .500 (with the Timberwolves sitting at 11-12 and on the rise as we speak). Should Denver struggle — which at this point appears likely — there’s a good chance management will be influenced to try and re-sign Chandler in order boost the Nuggets depth and talent level even more. However, there are a few key factors outside of “win total” that Denver will heavily weigh in the decision-making process before reaching a conclusion regarding where to go with Chandler.

First and foremost, the Nuggets need to figure out how open Wilson Chandler is to the idea of playing a backup role behind Danilo Gallinari and more than likely, Arron Afflalo. Even if the Nuggets are able to give Chandler the type of money he desires, and deserves, there’s still a large possibility that starting on an NBA team is just as important to him as receiving the type of contract that truly reflects his talent level.

The second biggest factor in determining where Chandler ends up playing ball for the next handful of years in the NBA is, in all likelihood, Stan Kroenke. Though son and current president of the Nuggets, Josh Kroenke, is undoubtedly calling his fair share of shots these days, in reality it’s Papa Kroenke that has the final say on all financial dealings that occur within the Nuggets organization, including the team payroll. As of right now the Nuggets are sitting roughly $1 million under the salary cap. Should Chandler re-sign with the Nuggets his contract would put the team well over the cap which would force Kroenke to pony up quite a bit of his own cash in order to comply with league regulations of paying one dollar for every dollar your team is over the cap threshold. Even with the Nuggets sitting near the apex of the Western Conference’s elite, you have to wonder how willing Kroenke will be to paying a hefty sum of his own hard-earned cash for a team that struggles to win games resembling those they will surely see come playoff time.

Finally, depth, financial flexibility and playing time moving forward will need to be strongly considered by the Nuggets before committing to Chandler long term. As was written by Charlie several days back, the Nuggets are already facing issues with the copious amount of depth on the roster. Adding yet another wing player who deserves 30 minutes per night will only exacerbate whatever current problems the Nuggets are facing. Though Chandler would without question pose as a significant upgrade to the Nuggets second unit, it’s worth noting that Denver (if it chooses) already has three talented small forwards locked up through at least the 2015-16 season with Corey Brewer also on the books until the end of next year. Between Nene, Gallinari, Afflalo and Harrington alone the Nuggets have roughly $37 million on the books for next year and this isn’t even taking into account Koufos, Andersen, Stone, Faried, Hamilton, Mozgov Brewer and the money the Nuggets will need to pay Ty Lawson in order to retain his services for the foreseeable future. Including Gallinari’s contract, the Nuggets are set to distribute close to $55 million to 12 different players next year, with the cap likely coming down or remaining about the same.

Considering all the factors mentioned above, as much as the Nuggets may want to re-sign Chandler, it’s difficult to see this idea coming to fruition. The Nuggets simply do not have the cap room, roster flexibility nor minutes in the current rotation to add yet another wing scorer to the equation. Though it is possible to re-sign Chandler — by using the amnesty provision on Andersen which would free up much-needed cap room — it must remain absolutely imperative that the Nuggets move beyond loyalty and think ahead for the future, especially in regards to roster construction and possible missing links that will still need to be conjured up in the coming years. In the present scenario, it just doesn’t make sense to hand out yet another bulky contract to a wing man when the Nuggets are already committed to three small forwards for the next four seasons.

Keep in mind that, if for some reason, Chandler truly wants to return to Denver, the Nuggets will not hesitate to make it happen. Masai Ujiri’s track record (including his scheduled meeting with Chandler in China) has proven he’s a “players” general manager who likes to establish friendly relationships with his clientele and, evident by the more recent free agency period, believes in re-signing his own players above all else. Ujiri and Josh Kroenke know Chandler is young, talented and improving and certainly will not see re-signing him as a move in the wrong direction (after all, some assets are better than no assets); however, the best basketball decision — which at this point in the game should reign supreme in the decision-making process — is to move Chandler for draft picks or possibly a big man that could come in to Denver and start immediately.

The Toronto Raptors are reportedly set on making “life hard” for the Nuggets when it comes to re-signing Chandler, according to HoopsWorld.com. In the scenario which Chandler is to re-sign in Denver, the last thing the Nuggets need is another team willing to drive up the asking price for his services. Denver simply cannot afford to overpay Chandler, no way no how. That said, it’s crucial Denver refrains from showing any inkling of reluctance to shell out the pretty penny it might very well take to get Chandler back in a powder blue uniform. This will ensure Toronto doesn’t get the vibe that Denver is desperate to make a deal which should keep most of their top flight assets on the table.

Above all else, Denver must look to “steal” Toronto’s first-round pick in this year’s draft if at all possible. This should be, without question, the centerpiece of the deal from Denver’s perspective. The upcoming 2012 draft is littered with the types of franchise-changing players Denver is in desperate need of and when playing ESPN’s Lottery Mock Draft, the Raptors (as projected by their current record) come out in the top 10 nearly every time, often landing inside the top five. Though the Raptors would likely be reluctant to part with such a potentially impressive asset, the Nuggets could sweeten the deal by offering up their first-rounder along with a second-round pick (Denver has two this year) and additional players from their roster if necessary.

In order to make salaries match the Nuggets will likely have to consider taking on the contracts of either Amir Johnson or Leandro Barbosa (whom the Raptors are reportedly willing to shop), depending on how many other players get included. It would of course help if Toronto would somehow commit to taking on Chris Andersen in the process, as it would rid the Nuggets of perhaps its worst current contract on the books. Unfortunately, to make this happen Johnson’s lengthy contract would also have to be absorbed by Denver which would essentially negate that move all together, however its important to keep in mind how much younger (24 as apposed to 33) offensively talented and capable of playing heavy minutes Johnson is compared to the Birdman at this point. Ideally, if Toronto would accept Chandler and a first and second-round pick from Denver in exchange for Barbosa and their unprotected first-round pick in this year’s draft, the Nuggets will have had it made. If Toronto demands more Denver can always consider throwing in Jordan Hamilton or another future first-round pick being that the Nuggets aren’t in debt in this aspect of the franchise.

Though it does indeed seem illogical for Toronto to give up their lottery pick in what’s perceived as the best draft since 2003, keep in mind just how desperate the Raptors are for a small forward and how willing general managers are to obtain the assets they covet most. Last year for example, the Clippers traded away what turned out to be the No. 1 pick in the draft just so they could banish Baron Davis’ undesirable contract, which in the end could have simply been amnestied at no charge (other than paying his salary) had they waiting nine more months for the new Collective Bargaining Agreement to kick in. Bottom line: Never underestimate the cost a team is willing to pay in order to obtain whatever it desires most.

]]>http://www.roundballminingcompany.com/2012/02/04/nuggets-news-preparing-for-wilson-chandler/feed/31Breaking down ESPN’s #NBArank of the Denver Nuggets: Part 1http://www.roundballminingcompany.com/2011/10/21/breaking-down-espns-nbarank-of-the-denver-nuggets-part-1/
http://www.roundballminingcompany.com/2011/10/21/breaking-down-espns-nbarank-of-the-denver-nuggets-part-1/#commentsFri, 21 Oct 2011 23:02:14 +0000http://www.roundballminingcompany.com/?p=2595ESPN recently concluded an extremely arduous process of codifying the NBA’s best 500 players. Our fellow TrueHoop family was highly involved in the process, sending in ballots, backing up their claims in the 5-on-5 series and explaining how certain elements weighed more heavily in their decision-making via video interviews which aired on the front page of the four-letter network’s website this past week. From our perspective — being a proud member of the TrueHoop Network — we feel entitled to give a Carmelo Anthony-like tip-of-the-hat to ourselves for all of our efforts, as ranking 500 different players is not an easy task; however, we conversely feel that it is our job to specifically analyze those players we know best, and determine if their individual Top 500 rankings are accurate in order to further understand how we can get better for next year. Including current free agents, the Denver Nuggets saw a whopping 16 players make their way to the #NBArank list. Whether they managed to land in the right spot is up for debate. In Part 1 of this series we’ll take a look at the Nuggets who landed outside of the Top 100.

No. 439: Melvin Ely

This far down the list, I think most people would be lying if they said, “Bingo, that’s the perfect spot for that guy,” because let’s be honest, whether you’d take the recently China-bound Melvin Ely, or former Nugget, Malik Allen (No. 465), at this point in time is really a toss up. Neither of these guys are going to see consistent minutes on any NBA roster, so it’s hard to evaluate who’s the better player at the moment. What we can do, however, is is look at former Roundball Big Board members, Josh Selby (No. 411), Charles Jenkins (No. 448), Jeremy Tyler (No. 441) and Iman Shumpert (No. 440) and say, “I’d definitely rather have those guys on my team than Melvin Ely or Malik Allen.” This is no slight on either Allen nor Ely, but the fact of the matter is, those two players have each already met the zenith of their respective careers while the rookies mentioned above have their entire NBA lives ahead of them. This doesn’t however take away from the fact that I found it strange that rookies were able to qualify for the #NBArank to begin with, being that none of them have played a minute in the NBA thus far.

Conclusion: N/A

No. 380: Jordan Hamilton

There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that Hamilton deserves, not only to be on this list — since rookies were deemed eligible — but to be ranked fairly high based on his production at Texas and in various competitions this summer. Hamilton finds himself ahead of anonymous NBA players like Antonio Daniels (No. 400), Samardo Samuels (No. 398) and Solomon Jones (No. 389), but behind marginally serviceable guys like Wayne Ellington (No. 364) and Pooh Jeter (No. 366). To me, this is perfectly fine. It’s subjective whether he should be ranked higher, or lower, but in the end I don’t think you can quibble too much with his position considering he beat out many other talented rookies along the way to No. 380.

Conclusion: Just right

No. 348: Kosta Koufos

To be quite honest, I was pleasantly surprised with Koufos’ ranking. It’s so easy, as an NBA fan, to hop on the bandwagon to lambaste the big, white “stiff,” without acknowledging the actual skill set it takes to make it in the NBA. I felt Koufos was undoubtedly primed for this consideration by our TrueHoop peers, but at No. 348, it appears he managed to avoided this label for the most part. As Nuggets fans, we got to see up close and personal what Koufos was capable of when he saw even the most marginal increase in playing time. Put simply: He wasn’t bad… at all. In fact, Koufos was quite impressive the last half of the season when he received extended minutes, which resulted in career highs in nearly every relevant statistical category imaginable on the offensive side of the ball. During the last three contests of the regular season when he saw around 20 minutes per game, Koufos averaged 14 points and seven rebounds per game on 72 percent shooting from the floor. Unfortunately this small sample size likely wont’ persuade #NBArank voters that Koufos deserves to be placed higher, and that’s probably how it should be. Though his on-court production might see an upswing in the future, right now Koufos is still largely unproven.

Conclusion: Just right (for the national audience), too low (for Nuggets fans)

No. 332: Gary Forbes

Each individual player — for the most part — has a random Twitter comment next to their ranking, exemplifying — for the most part — the general consensus the outside world has of that specific player. Gary Forbes Twitter attachment comes from @TheAkronHammer, who says, “Obviously this doesn’t take into account his 78-point game in the Hartford Pro-Am.” I would tend to agree, but I’d also add that it doesn’t take into account his excellent performance at the FIBA Americas Championship in which he outperformed many players listed higher on the #NBArank list, along the way to scoring a tournament-high 39 points against Canada. No, Forbes hasn’t seen a heavy dose of minutes while donning a Nuggets jersey, but on the rare occasion he does, Forbes displays a fairly well-rounded and solid overall game. With J.R. Smith now gone, many Nuggets fans, including myself, have been extremely boisterous in their desire to see Forbes re-signed. That alone says a lot about the un-drafted shooting guard from Panama. Just glancing at some of the names ahead of him, such as Keyon Dooling (No. 328), Fabricio Oberto, (No. 327) and Luke Walton (No. 318), it’s obvious he’s ranked a tad too low for my liking, as I’d take him over all three of those guys any day of the week. But again, I can’t complain too much, and for the most part the TrueHoop Network did a solid job of figuring out about where Forbes belongs.

Conclusion: Just right (for the national audience), way too low (for Nuggets fans)

No. 331: Kenneth Faried

Holy Moses, for the sake of all things… well… holy, where in the hell do I start? I’m not sure when Faried was ranked (was it right after the 2011 Draft that ballots were sent in, or what?), because clearly, and I mean CLEARLY, if you’ve been paying ANY attention whatsoever to the countless number of exhibition games played this summer during the lockout, you’d know for a fact that Kenneth Faried was the biggest steal in the Draft, and is without a doubt going to be a stud in the NBA! Sure, that might sound like a total homer proclamation from a fan who’s loved Faried since Day 1 and almost passed out when the Nuggets drafted him, but the facts simply don’t lie. We’ve chronicled Faried’s 2011 Summer Beastmode Tour since he first debuted at the Drew League in L.A., and it’s been nothing short of the most spectacular rookie display of all 60 players taken in the 2011 Draft. Faried has continuously blown away the Twitter Universe with each outing, garnering a myriad of new fans every time he’s stepped onto the court. He’s wowed experts, analysts and even division rival TrueHoop bloggers of the Denver Nuggets, who’ve given him way more credit than they should (joking, joking). He’s, to my knowledge, been the only rookie to make SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays reel, not once, but TWICE, during a summer in which no professionally organized, NBA-sanctioned basketball is being played. So I wonder, how in the world can a guy who’s been this explosive, this relentless, this flat-out impressive, be ranked behind such players as Maurice Evans (No. 320), Kyrylo Fesenko (No. 310) and for God’s sake, Vladimir Radmanovic (No. 315)?!?! I would lend some breathing room to my fellow TrueHoop brotherhood had they ranked all rookies, in general, much lower, but somehow Tristan Thompson (No. 319) and Bismack Biyombo (No. 301) — both of whom have accomplished nothing this summer — are ranked directly ahead of Faried. To summarize: Faried’s ranking is the epitome of the flaws that lie nearly everywhere when trying to rank such a copious amount of NBA talent. There’s simply no way this position justifies just how good Faried already is, and will be in the NBA.

Conclusion: Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too low

No. 306: Timofey Mozgov

How Mozgov finds himself ranked above Faried is almost criminal, yet at the same time, justifiable, considering the other players surrounding him. Guys like Kwame Brown (N0. 304) and Mike Bibby (No. 307) are basically in the same category as “The Moz”; the difference, however, between him and many of the players in his realm, is age. Mozgov is young, tall and fairly talented, kind of like the more generic version, and tag-line, of Amare Stoudemire (Standing Tall and Talented). Mozgov still has tons of room for improvement, but has shown flashes of high basketball IQ on a number of occasions. Should Nene flee in free agency after hell freezes over and the NBA lockout concludes, Mozgov will almost certainly move into the starting center role for the Nuggets, unless of course they sign a more established NBA center such as Samuel Dalembert (No. 112). If he can hold his own as a starter, Mozgov will most likely vault to much higher position in next year’s #NBArank, as occupying the starting center position on any NBA team is a position most would deem impressive, and credible.

Conclusion: Just right

No. 168: Al Harrington

Unlike Kosta Koufos and Gary Forbes, I feel the rest of the NBA community has a firm grasp on who Al Harrington is as a player. Surrounded by guys like Boris Diaw (No. 161), Mike Miller (No. 169) and Corey Maggette (No. 162), Al Harrington seems to be right where he belongs: among guys who, at one point in their careers have been unquestionable starters, but now are crossing the void into a more role-player oriented disposition. Big Al can still go out and get you 15 points on any given night, and would even be a solid starter on many NBA teams, but the fact that he has no chance whatsoever of beating out Danilo Gallinari — a career 14 points per game scorer — for the starting small forward gig of the Denver Nuggets says a lot about where he stands at this point in time in his career. At 31, Harrington could go on to have a couple more big years before his career fizzles out, but the odometer is certainly increasing in digits, especially considering how many miles he’s already put on.

Conclusion: Nearly perfect

No. 159: Chris Andersen

At first, No. 159 seemed a bit high for “The Birdman.” Averaging just about five points and five rebounds per game isn’t much; but numbers were never the reason Birdman made it in the NBA to begin with. This guy’s passion for the game, his energy, his explosiveness — are remarkable. I’ve seen Birdman single-handedly win games for the Nuggets (yes, you heard that correctly) and change the entire landscape of the Nuggets in-game mentality with a mighty block. He has the ability to redefine the paradigm of any individual game with his energy alone, especially at home. Though injuries and age have placed a steady draft in front of the Birdman’s path of flight, his wings haven’t been clipped just yet, and I stand by my claim that the Birdman is one of the very best, and most important role players in all of basketball.

Conclusion: Just right

No. 110: J.R. Smith

What is there to say about J.R. that hasn’t already been said 1,000 times before? He’s an enigma, anomaly, prodigy, disappointment, always-has-been, never-will-be, knucklehead and reliable asset all rolled into one. He’s what I love about the NBA, and conversely, what I hate about it. Yet for all the grief J.R. gets, I personally don’t believe he gets enough credit either. You see, in the NBA maybe more than any sport, we’re always waiting, salivating, for some guy to “break out.” Though nearly eight years have passed since J.R. joined the Nuggets, we’re still waiting on him to become that All-Star caliber guy we all know he is. It’s fascinating to be honest with you — the way each and every year Nuggets fans from across the globe predict how this year will be different, how this year J.R. will finally break out of his shell and morph into a consistent scoring machine. But it never happened, and it never will. J.R. is who he is. He’ll always be inconsistent, he’ll always be a knucklehead and he’ll always do things that drive coaches crazy. But this is the NBA, and the year is 2011 — that type of behavior is almost protocol nowadays. So let’s forget about what J.R. isn’t for a moment, and acknowledge what he is: a bench player, and maybe even a starting shooting guard on the right team (remember, J.R. Smith, for all intensive purposes was the starting shooting guard on the 2009 Nuggets squad that made it to the Western Conference Finals) who can go out and put up 20-plus points on any given night… easily. Glancing at the other guards surrounding J.R. in the #NBArank is actually quite interesting. Guys like Aaron Brooks (No. 118), D.J. Augustin (No. 119), Baron Davis (No. 106) and Trevor Ariza (No. 113, not a guard by the way) all have worse field goal percentages than he does, yet none of them obtain the bad wrap for being a “chucker” that J.R. gets, and absolutely none of them are as lethal on the offensive side of the ball either. Even moving into the Top 100 for example, O.J. Mayo (No. 93) averaged not only a worse field goal percentage than J.R. last season, but less points, steals and rebounds, not to mention more turnovers — all in more minutes time. I’m not necessarily saying that J.R. is a better player than Mayo, rather, just pointing out the facts. In summary: J.R. lives under a double-standard because of his character. He’s wild, he’s irresponsible, he’s had his fair share of run-ins with the law off the court, but the fact is, he’s just as talented and gifted as almost anybody on it.

Conclusion: Just about right, but can vary depending on the day

No. 102: Kenyon Martin

Again, just as is the case with J.R., I feel K-Mart is a guy who’s value takes a hit due to his image. I really don’t think people understand the kind of impact this guy has on the court when fully healthy. He’s as mean, and intimidating of a players as you will ever find in the NBA, and can transform any given team’s fortitude simply with his presence alone. I don’t care what anybody says, Kenyon Martin’s one-on-one defense is some of the best in the entire NBA, and quite possibly the best of any power forward — Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett included. I mentioned the role J.R. played on that 2009 Western Conference Finals team, but if you want to know the real reason the Nuggets were so tough to beat, look no further than Kenyon Martin. It’s really too bad K-Mart decided to sign in China this past month, as he would have made an excellent addition to a title-contending team this season, and still could in time for the Playoffs, I guess. The bottom line: There are a lot of players around K-Mart in the #NBArank that you could place on a title contender such as the Heat, and none would have the impact K-Mart would. I’m sorry, but there’s no way I’d take J.J. Barea (No. 92) or Roy Hibbert (No. 96) over K-Mart, even at this point in his career. No way.

Conclusion: Too low

Stay tuned, as we’ll reveal our analysis for the Denver Nuggets who managed to crack the Top 100 of ESPN’s #NBArank in Part 2 of this series.

]]>http://www.roundballminingcompany.com/2011/10/21/breaking-down-espns-nbarank-of-the-denver-nuggets-part-1/feed/3A brief diary of the 2011 NBA Draft Lotteryhttp://www.roundballminingcompany.com/2011/05/18/a-brief-diary-of-the-2011-nba-draft-lottery/
http://www.roundballminingcompany.com/2011/05/18/a-brief-diary-of-the-2011-nba-draft-lottery/#commentsWed, 18 May 2011 09:25:53 +0000http://www.roundballminingcompany.com/?p=2400Quite a few storylines unfolded on Tuesday night in Secaucus, N.J., but none were bigger than the Cavaliers winning two of the top four overall picks behind the fortuitous, and confident, 14-year-old Nick Gilbert, son of Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert and team representative for the night.

Dressed in a mini-tuxedo with a Cavaliers themed bow-tie and glasses the size of goggles, Nick Gilbert — born with Neurofibromatosis (NF) — somehow managed to land his father’s team the No. 1 and No. 4 pick in the first round of the 2011 NBA Draft. When asked how he felt about his father referring to him as “his own personal hero,” Gilbert nonchalantly stated, “What’s not to like?” And thus, the 2011-12 Cleveland Cavaliers’ season slogan was born, along with two opportunities to vastly improve the franchise should the picks be executed properly.

… Right Kahn, Stern simply couldn’t resist the lovable, baby-eyed David Gilbert and decided he’d totally alter the history of a franchise by giving it two top four picks just to create a storyline for the 30-minute (which was really about 10 minutes of actual footage) shooting of the Draft Lottery…

Why Kahn, out of all people, is complaining is somewhat of a mystery. Even if the Timberwolves did land the first pick in the draft, he likely would have figured out a way mess it up by drafting someone other than Kyrie Irving — since, you know, he already has a point guard on the way in Rubio (even though it’s been two years since he was drafted fifth overall and still has shown no inclination to ever want to play for the Timberwolves). Knowing Kahn, there’s a good chance he would have tried to justify drafting Jonas Valanciunas No. 1 overall on the basis that two white 7-footers playing next to one another (the other being Darko Milicic, who according to Kahn is the best passing big man since Vlade Divac) in the Kurt Rambis-based Triangle Offense would create such a passing flurry that the other team would pass out due to vertigo, leading to effortless lay ups for the Wolves.

Anyways… it seems everybody else except for David Kahn felt happy for the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night. After a tumultuous season that saw Lebron James depart for Miami, resulting in the worst team-record since 2002-03 and an NBA record 26-game losing streak, this was the exactly what the doctor ordered for the Cavaliers and it’s fan-base. And nothing else, at least this will help out Dan Gilbert in the race to win a title before “the self-titled former ‘King’ wins one,” which he just-so-happened to “self proclaim” roughly one year ago.

To get a better understanding of what exactly went through my mind during the Draft Lottery, here’s my notes from the night in chronological order:

5:49 I love listening to Magic Johnson because he makes the most obvious aspects of the game sound so compelling. You can’t help but be mesmerized because he’s Magic — no pun intended — but at the same time I almost always feel the urge to say, “Thank you Captain Obvious” after every single exchange. Typical Magic analysis sounds something like, “You see, when there are two bigs — who are tall, BIG guys — going up for a rebound, more often than not the guy who jumps the highest or has the longest arms will get it! And this allows for whichever team that gets the rebound to have an advantage in the rebounding part of the game.” Yes Magic… we know.

5:52 Haven’t seen “The Next Round” until tonight, although I can’t really say it’s any different than, “The 30-minute Advertisement by Jim Beam That Somehow Incorporates Sports Into the Content.” The show features Scoop Jackson, Bill Simmons (who this column is somewhat structured after) and Adam Carolla apparently kickin’ back a few Jim Beam infused mixed drinks while they talk about the hottest sports topics of the moment. It was going alright until Carolla had to confirm with the guys how many rings Kobe has, and yet petitioned his unrivaled Laker fandom to the audience by saying his middle name should be “Lakers.” Honestly, if you can’t tell me how many rings Kobe has within a second of being woken up from a deep, intoxicated sleep, then you’re just like 99.9 percent of all Laker “fans” out there, aka, you’re not a fan.

5:56 Being a relatively young Nuggets fan, I’ve never had to huddle around the TV on Draft Lottery Night, hoping that the pingpong balls align in our favor. Although this is definitely a good thing, I gotta say, it would be exciting in a way. Hopefully management can figure out some way to swing a deal for a first-round picks that ends up being near the top of the lottery while still remaining competitive, a la the Detriot Pistons in 2003.

6:08 Switched over to Jeopardy! during a commercial break to catch one of the answers to a question being, “What is the McRibb?” Sign of the Apocalypse?

6:13 Who needs to win the lottery the most? I say Kings. It would help bring some publicity to the franchise and hopefully aide in keeping it located in Sac-Town (their nickname, not mine).

6:28 I’m really interested in seeing how the Jazz utilizes its picks. (Remember, if we had traded for Favors that No. 3 overall would be ours right now. Just saying.)

6:31 John Barry just referred to Dirk Nowitzki as, “The Germinator.” I’ll leave it at that.

6:40 Uh oh. New Chopped is on tonight; the one and only show I will even consider missing the Playoffs to watch. Also, just scrolling through the channels I’ve noticed TLC is doing its self-enforced monthly block of shows about people that are too fat to do anything but remain in one spot and, you guessed it… eat. Show titles include “Half Ton Man” and “600 Pound Mom,” who was also featured on “I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant” … Just kidding. But seriously, it’s possible.

6:46 Wow! Cleveland and Utah both have a chance at the No. 1 overall pick and in both cases this is due to draft picks they recieved for one of their players in a trade. The Cavs received its first-rounder from the Clippers in the Baron Davis deal and Utah received its pick from the Nets in the Deron Williams blockbuster trade, and now each have a shot to get the No. 1 pick in the draft. Amazing. (On a side note, in his most recent podcast Bill Simmons jokingly suggested how funny it would be if the Cavs ended up winning the Lottery from the Clippers pick. As it turns out, that’s exactly what ended up happening.)

6:52 Unbelievable, Cavs win the Lottery. Whatever person in the Clippers camp came up with the idea of trading away its No. 1 selection this year should be fired. Seriously, you’re the Clippers and you’re gonna trade away your No. 1 draft pick just so you can dump Baron Davis? What the hell were you thinking?!? How cheap can you possibly be?!? We should be looking at a Kyrie Irving-to-Blake Griffin connection for years and instead we’ll likely be stuck with whatever Mo Williams can muster up before the next mediocre point guard replaces him a few years down the road, thus repeating the process. Ugh, this is the type of poor management that just makes me sick.

6:54 Alright, now that it’s all said and done, what would you rather have: the No. 3 pick in this year’s draft, Derrick Favors and the Warriors first rounder next year, or the players we got from New York? It’s close, but as far as our needs go, I think the New York trade suited us best. At No. 3 the Jazz are likely going point guard, and we already have Ty here. Outside of that position, I don’t see any players that I can immediately look at and say I like more than Gallinari, Chandler and Moz, who could potentially be on our team for years. If Williams drops and Favors turns out to be a beast, it might be a different story, but for now I think we have to be thrilled with how things turned out.